Isn't that when big businesses are financed and owned by the government? Along with massive social spending programs because the govenment is now going to take care of eveyone? Hmmm, seems like I've read and watched something in the past about National Socialist.Glenn Beck's piece tonight was right on!

YardleyLabs

02-07-2009, 07:23 AM

Isn't that when big businesses are financed and owned by the government? Along with massive social spending programs because the govenment is now going to take care of eveyone? Hmmm, seems like I've read and watched something in the past about National Socialist.Glenn Beck's piece tonight was right on!

National Socialism was pretty much unique to Germany. Its supporters obsessed about patriotism -- particularly their belief that they had lost a war because of the faltering patriotism of liberals, socialists, and Jews -- and about the purity of their cultural and racial identity. They were anti-intellectual and authoritarian, placing extreme value on dramatic patriotic celebrations. While most of its members were drawn from bourgeois and blue collar workers who felt victimized by the villains of the day -- immigrants, Jews, gypsies, liberals and socialists -- the national socialist leaders were closely allied with the economic and aristocratic elite. While not the same as fascism, national socialism and fascism shared these elements.

The national socialists were not big on nationalizing industry. Rather, they used government contracts -- primarily military contracts -- to feed industry and maintain the alliance with the financial elite. I suspect that Eisenhower had this in mind when he warned of the emerging military industrial complex in the United States.

You are welcome to draw any parallels you wish. However, I don't think that there is much relationship between what is going on today in Washington and any aspect of national socialism.

Personally, I do not view national socialism or fascism as either left or right, although that is a point that has been argued over time. Rather, they are philosophies that emphasize the differences between "us" and "them" and seek to use the authoritarian powers of the state to enforce purity. They will call themselves democratic, but only if decisions are left to those who understand the importance of maintaining that purity. They abhor anything related to diversity -- be it in culture, language, or beliefs -- and have few compunctions about using power to enforce unity and defend against both real and imagined (or invented) attacks. Fascist leaders quickly learn the value of fear to manipulate their followers and will create or magnify "enemies" as needed to maintain political support.

While fascism has been most closely identified with Germany, Italy, and Spain, it also found fertile soil in France, the United States, Japan, and other countries and tends to emerge again any time there are economic or cultural pressures that leave large segments of the population feeling victimized.